This weekend, the DC Area was hit by a terrible storm that left thousands without power. Many trees in my neighborhood fell and destroyed several cars. One tree behind my building caused a power line to go down and a fire broke out; meanwhile the building next door had a tree fall on top of the roof. In the middle of the night, I had to pack an emergency bag and wait for instructions on whether to evacuate– but our egress was blocked by trees on the road, so immediate escape was not an option. Somehow, my son slept through everything– completely oblivious to the chaos around us. The next morning, with the threat of peril behind us, I have to admit I felt wiped out.
In the last 18 months, this area has been hit with a severe snowstorm aka Snowmaggeden, two earthquakes, a hurricane, and now this tornado. It is almost as if these Acts of God are trying to highlight a reality I’ve been trying to ignore for some time: we are all human, and no one is invincable. This begs the question a lot of us try to avoid: can you weather life’s storms alone? Humbly, I accept that the answer is no.
Thankfully, I did not have to dwell on these thoughts for very long. Somehow, despite an inablity to phone and text anyone, my email describing the situation reached at least one friend, who was able to drive close enough to my location to get us out of what looked like a war zone. It was odd to see movie theaters without power, restaurants that were either closed or packed, and traffic was a nightmare due to lights being out almost everywhere.
The order and peace that we are so used to in DC is not something everyone gets to enjoy, and the past several acts of God have definitely driven home the point that it is okay to rely on others– it is in fact human. Every now and then, I’m learning that it is okay to give up the savior role and instead be the one in need of a rescuer.
